Concrete Angel
by thor-you-oaf
Summary: Dean had never been a particularly optimistic and cheerful person. His sullen demeanor put him at odds with those around him, but after moving to a new town and changing schools Dean doesn't think life can get much worse. Then he meets an eccentric boy named Castiel who changes his life in all sorts of drastic ways.


**CASTIEL**

Hiding behind the dumpster was not the brightest idea that Castiel Novak had ever had. Set at the back of the school where it was off limits to the students and hidden from the sunlight, it was cold and damp from the light rain showers earlier in the day, not to mention the odor was foul and strong. But Castiel had no choice but to sit crouched behind the giant dumpster, because on the other side were four older boys in the senior class, smoking their cigarettes and talking about how they were going to beat him senseless once they found him. But their intelligence wasn't the highest, and if they just took a look behind the green dumpster they'd find their victim, thus leaving them idiotically unaware of Castiel's presence.

As the smoke from their joints of marijuana flowed through the air, Castiel quietly cupped his hand over his nose and clenched his eyes shut, tears already stinging his eyes from the wafts.

"Come on, I'm not waiting around all day for that scrawny fucker. Let's go nick some booze from the corner store," One of their voices broke through the silence, gruff and scratchy from the amount of cigarettes consumed on a daily basis.

As their footsteps retreated into the distance, Castiel slowly crawled to the edge and poked his head around the corner, checking to make sure that they were really gone. Not seeing anyone around, he sighed in relief and closed his eyes, mentally thanking God for giving him a break today as he stood up and moved away from the reeking hideout. He made a mental note not to run and hide there ever again, especially if it was the boys' hangout spot after school; probably during, as well. After brushing off some wet gravel from the knees of his pants, Castiel slowly walked away from the school and towards the direction of his neighborhood, which wasn't too far off; only a block or two.

It was not the nicest neighborhood around, but when you looked at it as a whole, neither was the city Castiel lived in. Well known for its high rate of unemployment, patronized for the crimes that were headlining the morning paper, the city of Sioux Falls was quite the rundown. As Castiel walked down the broken and cracked sidewalk, he silently looked around at the several houses in the neighborhood. Sometimes he wondered if at one time the neighborhood had actually been nice, clean and well kept. But from the looks of it, several tattered houses with overgrown grasses and grungy people slumming on the front porches, he doubted that this area had ever been any different than what he had grown up in. A trashy, drug filled dump.

When his house drew closer-just as rundown as every other house in the area Castiel slowly walked up the steps and pushed open the front door, which was never locked. As soon as he stepped inside, he was greeted with the foul stench of marijuana smoke filling the musky air, followed by the reeking odor of stale booze and whiskey. The silence in the house was a clear sign that his parents were higher than the sky and probably sleeping off their current intake of death in a bottle, meaning that if he wanted to have a good night then he needed to keep quiet and make his presence unknown.

He carefully edged his way through the kitchen, trying not to knock down the piles of glass bottles that were laying everywhere, or a lifetime worth of garbage strewn across the floor. The house was a complete pit, trash touching everywhere you could put your hand. As Castiel tried to head to the basement door, he accidently kicked several beer bottles, causing them to scatter and roll with a loud clank. He froze instantly, clenching his eyes shut, and waited for any indication that the noise had woken his parents up. His heart pounded sporadically in his chest in fear when he heard grumbling voices from the living room.

"W'sat?" His father mumbled, belching loudly like a vile pig. Castiel tried not to whimper, worried that his drunken father would come and check, finding that he was home from school. Ensued would be the raging fist against his cheek and knee into his rib, abusive without absolutely any reason at all. Castiel gingerly touched his cheek, still sore and yellowed from the last time he got hit a day or two ago.

When a few minutes passed and nothing happened, Castiel quickly stepped over the garbage and snuck down the basement steps. It wasn't a particularly large under room, nor was it finished in any way. The walls and floor were made of scratch concrete and there was a single window on the far side of the room, boarded up with wood that kept out sunlight. In the corner under the stair case was Castiel's bedroom, which consisted of an old, broken and mildew covered mattress lying on the damp floor. He reached up and pulled the string hanging from the ceiling, causing the single light bulb to flicker on and spread a dull light for him to see. Castiel tossed his backpack-branded with the school name in attempt to gain more students-onto the floor, where it fell easily. It was empty of course, because the teachers never assigned any homework. The teachers don't bother assigning homework, knowing that their drug dealing, gang ridden students were hopeless.

Sighing heavily, he flopped onto his mattress, ignoring the smell of mildew and body odor of the grimy bed from sleeping on the dirty floor for so many years. He didn't care, because he was safe and hidden from his parents. They tended to stay clear of the basement after his mother had fallen down the hard wood stares in a drunken daze and broke her arm. Ever since then, Castiel had taken refuge under the stairs; his only safe haven.

Cutting through the silence, his stomach heaved a heavy growl, begging for something to ease the hunger. There was never anything to eat at home, and the only meals he got were the free lunches at school. But that was only if he got to the cafeteria in time, because nearly everyone at school got free lunches and they tended to disappear quickly. Today he hadn't been able to snag one, thus leaving his stomach empty.

Castiel closed his eyes and sighed once again. Perhaps tomorrow would be better.


End file.
